Deputies spotted 47-year-old Shareef Allman crouching behind parked cars in the 900 block of Lorne Way in Sunnyvale — the same neighborhood that was the scene of a heavily armed manhunt by police on Wednesday following the shooting rampage at the Lehigh Southwest Cement Permanente Plant in Cupertino that left three dead and seven others wounded.

“Three deputies doing routine patrol found the suspect” in the residential neighborhood located about 5 miles east of the plant, and opened fire after the man “displayed in a threatening manner his firearm” around 7:30 a.m., Sheriff Laurie Smith said at a news conference.

The deputies involved in the shooting death of Allman were identified as Fabian Desantiago, Christopher Hilt, and Lindsay Crist, each of whom had less than five years of experience on the force. Smith praised them as “exceptional, great deputies who did a great job at the scene.”

The Santa Clara County’s Coroner’s Office later said that fingerprints confirmed the man killed by the deputies was Allman.

Authorities have not released any details about a possible motive for the workplace slayings, except to say that Allman was a disgruntled employee.

Union officials indicated that Allman complained to them about being treated unfairly after he was recently suspended from his job following an accident in which he hit a power line while dumping a truck load at the cement plant’s quarry.

“He told me he had gotten a suspension and didn’t feel that the punishment fit the crime,” said Bill Hoyt, secretary-treasurer of Teamster’s Local 287. “But he was fine, and didn’t seem angry, we talked and joked around. There was nothing weird about him.”

A close friend, Brandon Powell of Sacramento, said Allman had joked over the weekend about taking a gun to work because people were “messing” with him. The 20-year-old Powell said Allman laughed after making the statement, so he didn’t take it seriously.

Another longtime friend, Walter Wilson, said Allman complained to him that “the company was racist,” but he never thought he would resort to violence to resolve any issues at work.

“As far as I know he was the only African-American truck driver,” said Wilson, who described Allman as generally happy and jovial.

KCBS’ Matt Bigler Reports:

In addition to working at the cement plant, Allman had run a nonprofit group for youths and produced and hosted a public access television show for CreaTV in San Jose. He also wrote a novel titled “Saving Grace,” about the evils of domestic violence.

But the San Jose Mercury News reported Thursday that Allman’s ex-wife, Valerie Allman, was granted a restraining order against him in 1992 after he allegedly assaulted her on several occasions around the time the couple was divorcing.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Hell is to good for this piece of S**T. Why take down innocent people. I hope the people he wounded, will not have any long consequences, due to this heinous act. I’m glad there weren’t any more people involved. So much for a guy that preached non violence. There will probably be an autopsy and he will have found to have a brain aneurism. So then it will be alright.

I’m wondering why this murderer’s friend did not contact police when Allman was “joking” about committing murder at his workplace. This “friend” has blood on his hands and responsible for those who were killed at the quarry.

People – don’t be afraid to call the police when you hear this kind of threat. Take this kind of threat as serious as you are in the position to save innocent lives.

I’m glad that this murderer got what he deserved without the expense of a trial and endless appeals, but I fell terrible for his children. You can add them to the list of innocent victims of this idiot. I don’t care how bad your day is going; there is no good reason to start killing people, and there is NEVER an excuse for killing ANYONE except in self-defense or for punishment for committing or ordering a murder.

He was very violent according to his former wife. They were not married due to his domestic violence and pretended to care about the evils of domestic violence by writing a book about it. I”ve worked with DV victims for 15 years now and he is a classic case of a violent control freak, physically and verbally abusive to his wife. So, no he is not a non-violent person.

How he was treated by his co-workers is completely immaterial. If he did not like his workplace, he could have found another job and quit working at the quarry. He CHOSE to be a multiple murderer. He pulled the trigger on those people and he got what he deserved. I feel for his victims and I feel for the deputies, as they will have to endure the fact that they took a life, even though it was thoroughly justified.

If you watch the news its interesting how every witness has a different opinion as to how many shots were fired. Bruce says 5 , a lady on TV said 3 then said 7 , the news reporters said 8-10. Another reporter said 20 plus.

Yeah Larry, that would be the sane response, but I like it better that he’s dead. This psycho would claim, his mother made him do it, his dog made him do it, the moon was in the wrong position, made him do it. Any number of excuses he would give or tell a shrink. No this outcome is the best solution to this violent man.
The loss to all the victims is beyond comprehension. The loss of time and money would be the next miscarriage. The dragging it out for the next thirty years. His next meeting is with God, that’s where it will get sorted out.

It’s interesting the way most people automatically assume the shooter is “the bad guy”. Who knows what led up to such an outburst of emotional energy. Perhaps he was being harrassed or bullied by these three.

Many people feel like commiting murder, few act out on their impulses.

Yes, of course. He was also being harassed and bullied by the innocent woman whose car he jacked and then he shot her! It’s people like you who need to be shot by people like this a-hole! What a piece of $hit you are!

Oh okay, so because of my opinion I have become your enemy and you would like to see someone do harm to me. You’re having violent thoughts but would like for someone else to act out on it for you. So if the shooter killed me would he then be in your eyes justified in his actions?

A person just doesn’t wake up one morning, go to work and decide to kill for no reason. He may have had damn good reason to kill but was a fool for acting out on his impulses. As for the women he supposedly shot, she suffered non life threatening injuries. I’m sure he could have shot her dead if that was his intent.

If he was being “bullied” or “harassed” I would have no problem with him getting into a fight with them. However, killing and shooting a bunch of people was definitely just a wee bit overboard! Victor you are obviously a moron.

Well, why would we assume the shooter is the bad guy? The fact us that he murdered 3 people and tried to kill several others. Why would we assume from those facts that he is the bad guy? Silly us. Who cares what led up to such an outburst? The fact is that he murdered 3 people. Those people were not threatening him with imminent harm or death. Those are the only pertinent facts. How his mother treated him, his potty training, whether he came from a broken home, moon phase, or whatever his dog said to him are all immaterial.

Why such news drama on this and nothing close to the 3 teens gunned down last weekend? The press has put in all your heads..a disgruntled employee and were able to follow this live and get their ratings up…if they can’t follow it live, there is no ratings…

I’m scratching my head…CCW permits are hard to get in SC county, this guy had a domestic violence conviction, hence he is a prohibited possessor, he is a buddy of Jesse “gun grabbin” Jackson, “assault weapons” are illegal in Ca., he was a “peaceful activist” and even wrote a book about overcoming domestic violence…..

It behooves the cement company to speak only about how “good” this fellow was and that he had no history of any mean streak or misunderstandings. If the employees said anything else like, he complained about this and he argued that, it would only cast doubt and more questions about why the employees felt that way- opens a can of worms for more investigation. Coaching goes a long way. Prayers to the victims families and its community.